Perdue Farms is responding at the corporate and local level to support relief efforts in Northern California as deadly wildfires continue to devastate communities around its Petaluma Poultry operations.
Perdue, through its charitable giving arm The Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, has earmarked $20,000 to support recovery efforts of the American Red Cross of California’s Northwest in the Sonoma County region where many of the company’s associates live and work.
Perdue has shipped a truckload with more than 43,000 pounds of food products as part of its partnership with Feeding America to Redwood Empire Food Bank in Santa Rosa. Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry is also deploying its food truck into the community to help feed victims, volunteers and first responders.
“The losses endured by so many Californians is heartbreaking,” said Kim Nechay, executive director of the Perdue Foundation. “Based on our disaster relief experience, we know firsthand that every dollar of support to the local Red Cross is essential to help those who need it most.”
“This is a level of destruction that none of us here have ever seen,” said Matt Junkel, director of the Petaluma Poultry operation in Petaluma, Calif. “Our thoughts remain with everyone affected by this tragedy, including many of our associates, their families and neighbors. We’ll do what we can locally, and we hope the foundation’s grant will expedite the broader recovery effort.”
As Redwood Empire Food Bank Chief Executive Officer David Goodman explains, “Fires in Sonoma, Napa, and Mendocino counties have devastated our community. More than 82,000 of our neighbors were experiencing hunger before these fires, and the need for nutrition assistance has now grown. Having access to quality proteins, like those from Perdue Farms, is enormously important in our day-to-day hunger relief work, and vital in times of disaster, when so many in our community find themselves displaced. With this generous donation from Perdue, we are able to increase our provision of help to ensure all of our neighbors receive the critical food assistance they need.”
